1. Field
The present disclosure relates to an electrode catalyst for a fuel cell, a method of preparing the electrode catalyst, a membrane-electrode assembly (“MEA”) including the electrode catalyst, and a fuel cell including the membrane-electrode assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to a type of an electrolyte and fuel used, a fuel cell can be classified as a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (“PEMFC”), a direct methanol fuel cell (“DMFC”), a phosphoric acid fuel cell (“PAFC”), a molten carbonate fuel cell (“MCFC”), or solid oxide fuel cell (“SOFC”).
In general, a PEMFC and a DMFC include a membrane-electrode assembly (“MEA”) including an anode, a cathode, and a polymer electrolyte membrane interposed between the anode and the cathode. The anode includes a catalyst layer for catalyzing the oxidation of a fuel, and the cathode includes a catalyst layer for catalyzing the reduction of an oxidant.
In general, the anode and the cathode contain catalysts including platinum (Pt) as an active component. However, Pt used in Pt-based catalysts is an expensive precious metal, and the amount of Pt used in the electrode catalysts is also high. Thus, for mass production and commercialization of fuel cells, cost reduction is desired.
Therefore, there is a demand for the development of an electrode catalyst that includes less Pt, and provides high electrochemical performance.